India's political landscape is ablaze with activity! From the ongoing debates surrounding the new farm bills and their impact on rural India, to the upcoming state elections shaping the national narrative, the stakes couldn't be higher. Key political figures are maneuvering strategically, with alliances shifting and power dynamics constantly in flux. The opposition's challenge to the ruling party is intensifying, sparking vigorous debates on crucial policy matters including economic reforms and social justice initiatives. Parliamentary proceedings are filled with heated exchanges, reflecting the deep divisions within the nation. This evolving political climate directly impacts the lives of every Indian citizen, influencing everything from economic opportunities to social welfare programs. Stay informed about the latest developments in Indian politics, from crucial legislative decisions to grassroots movements, by exploring Abtak.com for in-depth analysis and breaking news updates. Understanding the intricacies of our political system is crucial; stay engaged, stay informed, and stay ahead.
Bihar Assembly Election: The Election Commission on Saturday announced paid holidays on voting days in Bihar, and warned employers who violate this legal provision of hefty fines. In a statement, the EC said voters in Bihar, which goes to polls next month, as well as voters in eight assembly constituencies across various states, where bypolls are being held on November 11, are entitled to paid holidays on polling days under provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. "As per section 135B of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, every person employed in any business, trade, industrial undertaking, or any other establishment, and entitled to vote at an election to the House of the People or to the Legislative Assembly of a State/UT, shall be granted a paid holiday on the day of poll," it said. The apex poll body underlined that there will be no deduction of wages on account of such a paid holiday, and any employer who contravenes these legal provisions shall be liable to a fine, adding that the holiday is applicable to workers across private and public sectors, including l daily wage and casual workers. "All electors, including casual and daily wage workers, who are working or employed in industrial or commercial establishments located outside their constituency but are registered as voters in a constituency going to polls, will also be entitled to the benefit of a paid holiday on the day of the election to enable them to cast their vote," the poll panel said. The commission has directed Bihar and other states where bypolls are scheduled next month to issue necessary instructions for strict compliance with the provision. The Bihar Assembly Election will be held in two phases on November 6 and November 11, with the counting of votes to follow on November 14. More than 1,250 candidates filed their papers for the 121 seats as the filing of nomination papers for the first phase of Assembly polls concluded on Friday, according to the EC.
New Delhi [India], December 12 (ANI): JD(U) MP Sanjay Kumar Jha on Thursday backed the proposed 'One Nation, One Election' bill, stating that party supremo Nitish Kumar has always supported simultaneous Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections. He added that the party had previously voiced its support for the bill and had approached the relevant committee. Jha remarked, "Our party welcomes this. We had approached this committee, and I was also part of the delegation. Nitish Kumar has always advocated for simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha. We conveyed to the committee that ...Read More >
Srinagar: The Centre on Tuesday announced new reservation and domicile policies for Ladakh, reserving 85% jobs for locals and one-third of the total number of seats in the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils for women. Both Kargil Democratic Alliance (KBL) and Apex Body Leh (ABL), which are fighting for implementation of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution in the Union Territory (UT), statehood, a separate public service commission and two Lok Sabha seats for Ladakh, welcomed the noti ...Read More >
Vijayawada: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday said that concerted efforts would be made to increase green cover in the state from current 30.05 per cent to 50 per cent by 2047 when India would celebrate its centenary year of Independence. Addressing the Vana Mahotsavam event on the World Environment Day at Ananthavaram village in Thullur mandal near here, the Chief Minister said: "Currently, Andhra Pradesh has 37,421 sq km of forest area, accounting for 23 per cent of the total area in the State. When we add greenery outside forests, the state's green cover stands at 30.05 per ce ...Read More >
Mumbai, Jun 7 (PTI) Rival factions of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) will hold separate Foundation Day gatherings in Pune on June 10 in the backdrop of a growing buzz over a reunion, though both sides insisted there was no such proposal on the table despite frequent meetings between their top leaders. Maharashtra NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) president Jayant Patil clarified that talk about both the factions coming together was "only in the air", and there has been no discussion on a possible reunion. Talking to PTI, Patil said, ''On June 10, we will celebrate the 26th year of foundation o ...Read More >
In this edition of Frontline Conversations, former Maharashtra Women and Child Development Minister Aditi Tatkare discusses how the Ladki Bahin scheme, which provided direct cash transfers to 2.35 crore women, transformed both the economic landscape and political dynamics of the State. The programme, which distributed Rs.7,500 across five instalments to women earning less than Rs. 2.5 lakh annually, not only empowered women with financial independence but also proved to be a decisive factor in Mahayuti's electoral victory, marking a shift in Maharashtra's traditionally male-dominated political ...Read More >
The financial repercussions of Parliament disruptions are considerable, impacting both public resources and the productivity of the nation's legislative process. However, both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have cumulatively functioned for merely 2 hours, with daily disruptions and sloganeering resulting in adjournments. The Rajya Sabha faced disruptions today (December 2) as Vice Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar expressed discontent over sloganeering by Opposition MPs. The protests, which centered around demands for discussions on key issues, forced the Vice Chairman to adjourn the session until 12 ...Read More >
Srinagar: Continuing their efforts to combat the drug menace, the Jammu and Kashmir Police on Thursday seized two vehicles of peddlers in Srinagar city. A police statement said, "Continuing its efforts to eradicate the menace of drugs from the society, police in Srinagar have seized two vehicles acquired through proceeds of illegal narcotics trade. Srinagar Police have seized two vehicles, a Corolla bearing registration number DL4CNE 6086 and a BMW bearing registration number JK01AF-0047 in case FIR No. 36/2024 u/s 8/21 NDPS Act of Police Station Chanapora from the accused person namely Muda ...Read More >
New Delhi: The Union Cabinet has approved the 'One Nation, One Election' bill, to revive a concept that was once the norm in India's electoral history. The proposal aims to streamline elections across the country by holding simultaneous polls for the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies. The idea of holding simultaneous elections is not new to India. In the early years after independence, elections for the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies were held together in 1951-52, 1957, 1962, and 1967. However, this practice was disrupted when several State Assemblies were dissolved prematurely in 1968 and 1969. ...Read More >
New Delhi: The Union Cabinet cleared the bill for the 'One Nation, One Election' proposal on Thursday (December 12). This development comes as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the NDA have been repeatedly advocating for this initiative asserting that it will "strengthen the democracy" by holding simultaneous elections in the country. "Elections are held at different places every few months and it hampers the developmental work and all of you know it. Therefore, it is must to have deep study and deliberation on 'One Nation, One Election'," the PM said. "Only one voters' list should be used f ...Read More >
TNCC president K Selvaperunthagai described the passing of Elangovan as "a huge loss". Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister E V K S Elangovan died due to age-related ailments at a private hospital here on Saturday, the hospital said. He was 75. The legislator from Erode East constituency has not been keeping well for over a month. He was admitted to a hospital here on November 11. "He passed away today despite the best efforts of the medical staff," the hospital said. TNCC preside ...Read More >
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], May 27 (ANI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Tuesday said that the State government will take action against BJP MLC N Ravikumar for his derogatory comments against Kalaburagi Deputy Commissioner. Shivakumar said that many IAS officers had met him on this issue, and they were all enraged by the BJP MLC's comments. 'Since morning, more than half a dozen IAS officers have met me. They are all in a very agitated mood. The law will take its course. The government will take action,' Shivakumar told ANI. He wanted the BJP leadership to react to the ...Read More >
Itanagar, Jun 7 (PTI) The flood situation in Arunachal Pradesh improved on Saturday with water levels of most rivers receding, even as 33,000 people in 24 districts remained affected, officials said. Twelve people lost their lives and one person went missing in rain-related incidents, including landslides, after the monsoon set in, they said. In its daily report, the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) said 33,200 people in 215 villages remained affected due to floods and landslides in the state. The water levels of most major rivers and their tributaries were showing a receding trend o ...Read More >
New Delhi, Nov 26: The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking directions to the Election Commission of India (ECI) to introduce ballot paper in place of EVMs (Electronic Voting Machines). A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and P.B. Varale rejected the prayer to return to the ballot system due to the alleged manipulability of EVMs. "When you lose, EVMs are tampered with; when you win, EVMs are fine," remarked the apex court, when the petitioner referred to the statements made by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and his predecessor Jagan Mohan ...Read More >
The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition is now gearing up for a national protest after losing Maharashtra state elections. The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition, which suffered a crushing defeat in last week's Maharashtra state elections, is now gearing up for a national protest against the credibility of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), which it blames for its loss. The MVA, led by the Congress, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray faction), and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) (led by Sharad Pawar), is planning to challenge the use of EVMs in court and demand a return to ballot paper voting. Fo ...Read More >
New Delhi, December 15: The 'One Nation, One Election' Bill, officially known as the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024, will not be tabled in the Lok Sabha on Monday. The Revised Business List of the Lower House for the day does not mention the Bill. The first list had scheduled the Bill for Monday. It mentioned, "... Arjun Ram Meghwal to move for leave to introduce a Bill further to amend the Constitution of India. Also to introduce the Bill." One Nation, One Election: Union Cabinet Approves Bills for Simultaneous Lok Sabha, State Assembly Elections, Say Source ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: Population data returned by the upcoming 'Census 2027', due to begin on April 1, 2026, will pave the way for a countrywide delimitation of Lok Sabha and assembly constituencies, as the March 1, 2027 reference date makes it "the first Census to be held after 2026".However, the chances of delimitation being completed in time for the 2029 general election appear bleak, given that the final population data may take time to be published. The final population data for Census 2011 was published almost two years after release of the provisional data in March-end 2011. Even with a 'digital' ...Read More >
Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], June 6 (ANI): Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) President and Actor Kamal Haasan filed his nomination for Rajya Sabha at the Tamil Nadu secretariat in the presence of DMK President and state Chief Minister MK Stalin and his Deputy Udhayanidhi Stalin. DMK allies, VCK leader Thirumavalavan, MDMK leader Vaiko, and Tamil Nadu Congress President Selvaperundagai were also present. With DMK allocating one Rajya Sabha seat to Makkal Needhi Maiyam, its founder and actor Kamal Haasan was earlier named the candidate for the Upper House of Parliament. In the 234-member Tamil Nadu ...Read More >
Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], June 7 (ANI): Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar said that the 'government of the day is handicapped' as it can't register a first information report and said that the three-decades-old judicial order provides a 'virtually impregnable cover'. The Vice-President of India, Jagdeep Dhankhar, today said, 'The Government of the day is handicapped. It can't register an FIR. Because there is a judicial order. And that judicial order is more than three decades old. It provides virtually impregnable cover. Unless permission is accorded by a functionary at the highest level in ...Read More >
Belagavi (Karnataka), Dec 26 (VOICE) Karnataka BJP has slammed Congress over the display of posters depicting a distorted map of India at the venue of the centenary celebrations of the INC's 1924 session in Belagavi, saying that it shows utter disrespect for India's sovereignty and is shameful.Taking to social media handle X on Thursday, the BJP said, "Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) has been handed over to Pakistan by the Indian National Congress - Karnataka! It is truly an act of treason that Congress members have distorted India's map in the name of Gandhi Bharat. The banners displayed in B ...Read More >
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], February 7 (ANI): Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday rejected Leader of Opposition and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's allegation of alleged discrepancies in the 2024 Maharashtra assembly election stating that the Opposition leader, aware of his party's imminent defeat in Delhi election results was attempting to "cover fire." Earlier today addressing a press conference in the national capital Rahul Gandhi flanked by Supriya Sule and Sanjay Raut had alleged that over 39 lakh voters were added to Maharashtra's electoral rolls within a span of fiv ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: In a significant step toward digital transformation, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has revamped its post-election data reporting process by introducing a streamlined, technology-driven system for generating Index Cards and Statistical Reports. The initiative, aimed at enhancing data accessibility and timeliness, replaces the earlier manual process that often delayed dissemination. Under the leadership of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, the new system leverages automation and data integration to enab ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: Former head of Air India and chairman of the Railway Board Ashwani Lohani is the new Prime Ministers Museum and Library (PMML) director. The official order for his appointment was issued on Wednesday. A 1980-batch officer of the Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineering (IRSME), Lohani is known for turning around various organisations during his illustrious career. Following his retirement from IRSME service, he joined the GMR Group as the CEO. According to the order dated June 4, his appointment to the post of director, Prime Ministers Museum and Library in the rank and pa ...Read More >
Maharashtra NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) president Jayant Patil clarified that talk about both the factions coming together was "only in the air", and there has been no discussion on a possible reunion Rival factions of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) will hold separate Foundation Day gatherings in Pune on June 10 in the backdrop of a growing buzz over a reunion, though both sides insisted there was no such proposal on the table despite frequent meetings between their top leaders. Maharashtra NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) president Jayant Patil clarified that talk about both the factions comin ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jun 7 (PTI) Rahul Gandhi claimed on Saturday that the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections were a "blueprint for rigging democracy", drawing rebuke from BJP president J P Nadda, who accused the Congress leader of "cooking up bizarre conspiracies" in his desperation after losing a series of elections. The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha alleged in an article in the Indian Express that this poll "match-fixing" would next happen in the Bihar elections and "anywhere the BJP is losing". In a post on X, he said, "My article shows how this happened, step by step: Step 1: Rig the ...Read More >
Pudukkottai (Tamil Nadu) [India], June 7 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader H. Raja criticised Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) President chief Kamal Haasan, saying that the actor-turned-politician has 'mortgaged' his party in exchange for a Rajya Sabha seat. The BJP leader stated that the MNM chief, who used to oppose the DMK's freebies and corrupt rule, has 'mortgaged' his torchlight election symbol to the DMK in exchange for a Rajya Sabha seat. He even claimed that the actor has said to never form an alliance with the DMK. 'Everyone knows what Kamal Haasan did in the past. He opposed the ...Read More >
Srinagar, June 7: Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, on Saturday, congratulated the University of Kashmir for getting an A++ grade in the NAAC inspection. The Lt Governor extended his heartiest congratulations to the Vice Chancellor, faculty, staff, and students of the University of Kashmir for attaining the prestigious A++ Grade by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), and securing an outstanding Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 3.68 on a seven-point scale. Calling it a proud moment for J&K UT, the Lt Governor said, "The A++ Grade places the Un ...Read More >
New Delhi, Dec 12 (PTI) The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved bills to implement 'One Nation, One Election', and the draft legislations are likely to be introduced in Parliament in the ongoing Winter session, sources said. The decision was taken at a meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The government is keen on holding wider consultations on bills which are likely to be referred to a parliamentary committee. Sources said the government was also keen to consult the Speakers of various state legislative assemblies through the committee. Moving ahead with it ...Read More >
Silchar: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday visited the flood-ravaged districts of Hailakandi and Sribhumi in the Barak Valley. He assured affected residents of providing timely disbursement of rehabilitation grants and swift repair of damaged infrastructure.This marks Sarma's second visit to the flood-hit region within four days, underscoring the gravity of the situation. Speaking to the media in Sribhumi after inspecting multiple relief camps, the CM said, "Flood-related problems may persist till July. I will return before Durga Puja to ensure that roads and infrastructure ar ...Read More >
New Delhi, June 7 (SocialNews.XYZ) Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, has launched a stinging attack on the BJP, alleging that the party "match-fixed" the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections to secure a victory through large-scale electoral rigging. Taking to X, LoP Gandhi posted, "How to steal an election? Maharashtra Assembly elections in 2024 were a blueprint for rigging democracy." In a sharply-worded opinion piece published in a national daily, Gandhi laid out what he termed a "step-by-step playbook" used by the BJP to undermine the democratic process in Maharash ...Read More >
New Delhi, June 7 (SocialNews.XYZ) Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, has received robust support from INDIA bloc allies following his explosive allegations of "match-fixing" in the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections. His opinion piece, published in a national daily, has stirred a political storm, with Opposition leaders asserting that the article lays bare the scale of electoral manipulation and the Election Commission's failure to respond to legitimate concerns. In his op-ed, Gandhi accused the BJP-led Mahayuti of engineering a large-scale rigging operation to win ...Read More >